Upper for boots and shoes.



J. BUCKLEY. Y UPPER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. APPLICATION FILED J'U-NE 27. 1910.

RS ca, wlsmiyamlv. n. c.

Patnted Mar. 21-, 1911.

JOHN BUCKLEY, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

UPPER roe BOOTS AND snons.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

Application filed June 27, 1910. Serial No. 569,035.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JoI-IN BUCKLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Uppers for Boots or Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it, appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of the uppers of boots and shoes and it has for its object, to greatly simplify and cheapen the production of shoes and at the same time add materially to the strength and wearing qualities of the shoe.

As is well known to those skilled in the art of making boots and shoes, certain parts have to be strengthened and stayed by the addition thereto of stays and stiffeners, as for instance the box toe stilfener' is used at the toe of the upper to assist in retaining the shape imparted thereto by the last, and the counter stiffener is used at the back for the same purpose and for the purpose of preventing the shoe from treading over as it is worn. Also a reinforcing strip is em ployed upon the under side of the upper in the line of the foot opening in which the eyelets and lacing hooks are clenched, this strip being commonly known as the eyelet stay.

The preparation and application to the shoe of all these separate stiifening and staying parts adds considerably to the cost of making the shoe and therefore the purpose of my invention is to produce uppers for boots and shoes in which the box toe stiffener and counter stiffener and the eyelet stay are all formed as an integral part of the upper.

To the above ends, my invention consists of the improved shoe upper which will now be described and claimed.

My invention is shown in the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure 1 shows a plan View of the under side or inner face of one of the quarters used in manufacturing uppers for Blucher shoes. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view taken on the zigzag line 22 in Fig. 2. Fig. 3 shows a perspective view illustrating the method of cutting out the vamp and foxing of a shoe upper for a Bal lace shoe, an

Oxford, or a Congress or button gaiter. Fig. 1 shows a longitudinal sectional view taken on the zigzag line 1 1 in Fig. 3.

Similar reference characters will be employed throughout the specification and drawing, to designate corresponding parts.

, As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing the quarter 1 has a relatively thin portion 2 and relatively thickened portions 3 and 4, the thickened portion 3 constituting one half of the counter stiffener and the thickened portion 4 forming the eyelet stay.

In Fig. 3 the upper 5 has a thickened por tion 6 at its forward or toe end, and thickened portions 7 and 8 at the rearward ends, the thickened portion 6 forming the box toe, and the thickened portions 7 and 8 the opposite halves of the'counter stiffener.

Fig. 8 illustrates how my lmproved upl per is produced, the skiving 9 formed by splitting the leather, the skiving 9 terminating at its rear ends in the narrow oints 10 and having at its forward end t e recess 11.

In forming my upper I take a piece of leather somewhat thicker than is desired for an ordinary upper of the shoe, and by placing thereon a templet so formed as to permit certain parts to be depressed into recesses in the templet as the stock is acted upon by the splitting or skiving knife it will split substantially in two equal parts at all points except at those points where the extra and integral thickened portions are desired, this is shown in Fig. 3. The action of the splitting knife removes the skiving 9 of a shape shown, leaving the integrally formed thickened portion 6 for the box toe stifiener and the integrally formed thickened portions 7 and 8 for the counter stiffener, and in like manner a similar skiving is removed from the inner face of the quarter shown in Fig. 1.

My improved shoe may be made of a comparatively thick piece of upper leather, or a comparatively thin and light weight sole leather may be used in which latter event, it will be subjected to softening processes which will soften all parts except those that are desired to remain stiff and rigid.

From the foregoing it will be noted that I produce a shoe in which the box toe and the counter and the eyelet stay and any other part which may be desired to be size and shoe which 1t 1s act of lasting will cause the stiffened parts 7 to assume the desired shape,

so that when the shoe is made shall to all appearances will the last upon which be removed, the shoe beprovided with a box toeand counter stiffthe fact that enerv and'eyelet stay. p

:I am aware that it has heretofore been proposed to form a shoe upper with a relatively thick" back and quarter and a relatively thin ankle portion as shown in the I patent to Bigelow, 177,455, and also to form the counter portion of a shoe upper integrally with the vamp as shown in the patent to 'Maurer, 343,047, but I make no claim to anything'disclosed by these patents, my invention being distinguished therefrom by in my upper the thickened toe produced an upper of the desired splitting and skiving 'where stifi'ening is desired, and

cap stiffener and thickened counter stiffener are integral parts of the upper, instead of separate shaped blanks inserted between the linin and. upper as heretofore employed. j

Having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

shoe upper formed of relatively thick material which is reduced in thickness by at all points,- except at such points having appropriately shaped relatively thicker stiffening portions constituting an integral part of the upper, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof'I aifix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN BUCKLEY.

Witnesses:

T. HART ANDERSON, H. M. CHAMBERLAIN.

Gopi'es of; this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by adl iressing':v the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

